GSA engages cement manufacturers on standards

By Isaac AIDOO, Accra

Upbeat about strict adherence to standards, the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) says it has adopted additional methods  to ensure the quality of cement produced in Ghana,  the integrity of buildings and other engineering projects.

The Authority organised a workshop for cement manufacturers in the country to bring them up to speed with standard requirements for the production of good quality cement for construction purposes.

Senior Scientific Officer at GSA,  Ing.  Emmanuel Obeng told  The Finder in a interview, that “we have been making sure that through our product certification scheme, cement produced in Ghana conform to standards.”

Ing Obeng disclosed that the GSA had added another layer to the certification process – called surveillance , where officers of the Authority move to the market, take samples of the products , bring the samples to our laboratory and we test to ensure that the cement products on the market meet the requirements of the product certification given to the company .

“We have cause to believe that during product certification, when GSA inspectors visit the factories for inspections and bring samples, there are possibilities that good products are produced but when they receive the certificate, they may relent and compromise the quality of the products,” he stated.

To help maintain national and international standards of products, officers of GSA go onto the market, pick samples for testing act on the results that come

Ing Obeng further revealed that another layer to bolster compliance to standards was unannounced factory visits by officers of the Authority to make sure that the established processes of operations are followed strictly.

“We check their documentations, their records and practices and ensure that everything is place,” he stated.

At the workshop, presentations were made on topics such as the Safety of Structures, ensuring quality of cement on the market and reducing carbon dioxide emissions through the production of low clinker cements.